The present invention relates to trucks for railway vehicles having elastomeric electrically non-conductive suspension pads located between the pedestal roof of the side frames and the bearing adapter, such as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,412, and more particularly to an arrangement for grounding the electric static current from the side frame around the elastomeric suspension pad to the bearing adapter for static discharge at the rail.
The grounding connections currently in use today are typically cables which are fastened by connectors to the metal surfaces on either side of the elastomeric suspension pad.
A problem which has often occurred in such grounding connectors is that these cables and connectors are prone to fatigue and failure either from continued use, from physical impact with external objects along the railway route, or from the action of workers during maintenance of the railway trucks.